Caution: Unlike my other reflections, this is also a promotion of an event we are organising 🙂
Today is Yogacharya T. Krishnamacharya’s birthday
He is known as the Father of Modern Yoga movement. Working out of Mysuru, he revived the tradition and presented it to the contemporary world. His students B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, T. K. V. Desikachar, Indra Devi and others then carried this heritage across continents and transformed it into a global movement. His life is a lesson that a simple but serious practitioner in a small town can create an extraordinary impact across the world. A tradition that is thriving because he chose not to forget. Let us therefore not forget his contribution and remember him today. Let’s express our gratitude and celebrate his life.
West leads in certification and celebration of Yoga
Even though we are the civilisational land where yoga was born, the West has not only adopted it but has also built institutions for both certification and celebration. While over the last ten years the present dispensation has taken several steps to establish institutions, be it the International Yoga Day or the Yoga Certification Board, there is still one area where we lag behind, and that is celebration. Yes. The world celebrates our heritage and wisdom, before we do.
For example, some of the leading yoga festivals around the world are:
- YogaFest (Yokohama)
- Wanderlust (California)
- BaliSpirit Festival (Ubud)
- International Yoga Festival (Rishikesh)
- European Yoga Festival (France)
- Barcelona Yoga Conference (Spain)
As you can see, except for Rishikesh, almost all major global festivals happen outside India.
Why celebration is important
We are the land of festivals and celebration. Every festival brings together our community, where we remember our traditions and express our gratitude. Through these celebrations we remember not to forget our civilisational heritage. In the case of yoga too, while we all practise on our own, coming together annually can bring a sense of renewed purpose, inspiration from other seekers and opportunities to learn from new teachers. Yes,Yoga tradition will thrive when we collectively choose to remember, practice and celebrate.
Why an integral approach is important
While the West has reduced yoga primarily to asanas, we at INDICA offer an integral approach by incorporating the following elements in all our offerings.
- Harmonizing Philosophy, Psychology and Practice
- Complementing Sutras with Shastras
- Harnessing Sanskrit and Mantras
- Platforming Diverse Teachers and Traditions
- Honouring Yoga’s Origin and its Cultural Foundations
We believe only such an integrated approach results in inner transformation.
MYSURU Yoga Utsava ( MYU)
Our vision is simple. By 2033, we aim to make MYU one of the top three yoga festivals in the world incorporating the following two distinct elements
A. An expression of gratitude
We believe that India deserves more than one international calibre yoga festival. With this vision in mind, we started MYU in 2023. Mysuru was the natural choice, apart from being a thriving centre where several teachers offer their courses for practitioners from around the world, it also allows us to honour Krishnamacharya and other masters who shaped the modern yoga renaissance. And also through this we express our gratitude to our civilisational heritage. We believe such a gratitude mindset is required for inner transformation.
B. An integral celebration that goes beyond asanas
As mentioned above, our festival is not just about yoga asanas alone but incorporates Ayurveda, Vedanta, Sanskrit, Mantra chanting, Kirtans, Sutras and performances in four vibrant days of celebration.
MYU 2026
After two encouraging editions, we now enter our third year.
This year MYU is scheduled for 18 to 21 December 2025. You can get more details at www.mysuruyogautsava.com. We are curating four immersive days featuring:
- Fifty plus teachers and speakers from India and across the world
- Thirty plus experiential sessions and twenty plus workshops
- Cultural performances
My request
I earnestly request you to join us in this celebration. If you are a practitioner, MYU will deepen your sadhana. If you are a seeker on the cusp of practice, this festival can help you begin a lifelong journey.
I also request you to please forward this message to friends who may resonate with our vision, and share it in as many WhatsApp groups as you can. Every share widens the circle of people who are aware of this festival. Eventually with your support we will realise our Sankalpa for MYU to be in the top three festivals around the world, and collectively we can remember and celebrate our heritage in an equivalent Kumbh Mela of Yoga.
Hari’s Curries
A Buffet of Reflections